


the good, the bad, and all the blessings in disguise

by modernVictoria



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fic Exchange, Fluff, Mild Sexual Content, Philinda as Daisy's parents, Rarepair Fic Exchange, Slow Burn, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-09-02 08:30:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16783372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/modernVictoria/pseuds/modernVictoria
Summary: Daisy, recently unemployed, in desperate need of money to pay rent. Hunter, a bit of an ass (if you ask Daisy), in desperate need of a place to stay. Living together seems like the only logical thing to do.or better known as; "And they were roommates." "Oh my god, they were roommates."





	1. of all the things we will remember

**Author's Note:**

> To the beautiful @Typosandteabags back on Tumblr; I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it <3
> 
> Title from "Where Does the Time Go?" by A Great Big World.

“I need a favor.”

Daisy had barely opened her front door when Bobbi barged into her apartment saying she needed her help. Daisy took a step back, more by surprise than to actually let her friend through, and muttered, “Yeah, sure, come on in.”

Bobbi spun around in her tiny hallway, her golden curls waving around with the sharp movement. A bright smile appeared on her face as she took a step closer to Daisy, still standing in front of her door, hand clutching the doorknob.

“Hi, Daisy, how are you?” Bobbi smiled, throwing her arms around her in a hug.

Squeezing tightly, Daisy accepted the hug, needing it badly after the week she’s had, then muffled by blonde hair, she asked, “What do you want?”

Bobbi pulled away, moving further into Daisy’s two-bedroom apartment until she reached the cozy living room, where she flopped herself down into her grey couch. Daisy followed her and leaned against the back of her armchair, eyeing the blonde suspiciously as she laid down onto her couch, fiddling with the tassels of one of Daisy’s bright yellow cushions. She crossed her arms, trying to make herself look serious and put-together, which always made her feel ridiculous next to Bobbi, someone who actually got their shit together.

After a long silence, Bobbi spoke up with an unusually chipper voice, “You remember Lance Hunter?”

“How could I not?” Daisy scoffed.

Lance Hunter.

The asshole who thought he knew her better than she knew herself, with his snide remarks and smug smirks. Didn’t help either that he was hot and he knew it. But that didn’t matter though, she told herself, he was an ass and she despised him.

“The British dude, right? Sarcastic, broody, and overall not pleasant?”

Bobbi stopped fiddling with her cushion for a moment to point at Daisy as she confirmed, “Him, yes.”

“What about him?” Daisy inquired suspiciously. She had a nagging feeling she wouldn’t like where this conversation would end up.

“Every summer he stays at my place when he visits,” Bobbi began. Daisy remembered the first summer he had spent with them. She had no clue how the two of them met; Bobbi was kind and fun, whereas Hunter was… Hunter. She had had no prejudices when she first met him, Daisy admitted she even looked forward to meeting the British dude Bobbi had invited to New York. Mack had met him before she had the chance and he liked him so he couldn’t be bad, right? Or that was what she’d thought. He had taken one look at her, had stated that he knew exactly who she was, daughter of Philip Coulson and Melinda May, founders of SHIELD security, called her a brat and walked away.

He knew nothing of her.

Unfortunately, Mack and Hunter had hit it off, even Trip enjoyed his company, and so he was present for all their group outings much to Daisy’s frustration. When he had left again for England, Daisy was relieved, until she heard he would return the next summer, and the one after.

“I kinda forgot to tell him that Jemma moved into my place and now he’s coming in three days and he doesn’t have a place to stay.” Bobbi rambled out quickly. Daisy almost didn’t hear the silent question hidden underneath, but when she did, she quickly answered, “You and Jemma share a bed. Can’t you put him in the guest bedroom?”

“It’s not that I don’t have the room,” Bobbi explained, turning on Daisy’s couch to sit up straight. She placed the yellow cushion gently next to her.

“Jemma just moved in, and we kinda wanted the place to ourselves?”

She stood up and walked to the kitchen, taking a glass from her pantry and filling it with tap water.

“You have an empty bedroom and Hunter pays rent the months he stays over,” she said before taking a large sip of water.

“I have an empty bedroom because you stole my roommate by making her fall in love with you,” Daisy joked, only that she detected a hint of jealousy in her voice. She did miss Jemma sometimes; their late Netflix marathons and her delicious shortbread cookies.

Bobbi didn’t notice, or if she did, she didn’t comment on it. “I can’t help that I’m this good-looking.” She winked at Daisy.

“I really want to help you out, Bobbi,” Daisy started. “But it’s Hunter!” She dropped herself in her armchair, her feet dangling from the armrest and her right-hand touching the floor.

“He doesn’t like me! I don’t like him!” Daisy let her head fall against the armrest, looking upside down at Bobbi still in her kitchen, a smirk on her face. “We don’t like each other!” She added as if that would prove to be a better explanation than anything else.

“He doesn’t hate you,” Bobbi said. Daisy crossed her arms, tilting her eyebrow; she wasn’t convinced.

“Look, I don’t know what happened, but he doesn’t hate y-”

“He called me a brat!”

“I’m sure he didn’t call you a brat. That doesn’t sound like him,” Bobbi shook her head, laughing at Daisy’s air for the dramatic.

“He did insult me,” Daisy defended, “first time he saw me.”

“I did ask a lot of you, I’m sorry.” Bobbi put her empty glass into the sink, then moved back towards Daisy. She stretched her hands out, helping Daisy stand up from her contorted position in her blue armchair.

“I really want to help you, Bobbi,” she admitted sadly, but living two months with Hunter was too much. Certainly now.

“I know.” They both walked back to Daisy’s front door. “I’ll figure something out, don’t worry,” she said, opening the front door.

In her narrow hallway stood a small table where she kept her keys and other knick-knacks. One object, in particular, seemed to taunt her as she ushered Bobbi out the door. The letter had been thrown a few minutes ago onto the wooden table as Daisy had heard a knock on her door. It had been a source of anguish ever since she had ripped the envelope open this morning. Her rent.

That she wouldn’t be able to pay next month.

“Wait.”

Bobbi turned around, a flicker of hope and excitement in her eyes as she looked at Daisy, whose gaze was fixed on the piece of paper lying on the table next to her.

She had been laid off almost one month ago. She hadn’t said anything to her mother yet, not wanting to add to her worries after she had decided to move to New York City to study five years ago. She had a hard time as it was already, managing her father’s security company.

The web company she worked at had to downsize due to money issues. She had been one of the new acquisitions, so she had been one of the first to go. Her savings were slowly running out, certainly now that Jemma had moved out. If Hunter would pay half her rent, she would have the whole summer to figure out her next move.

She may not like him, but she did need him.

“Okay,” she said reluctantly.

A wide grin was on her face and she threw her arms around Daisy. “Thank you, Dais! I’ll call him immediately!”

She bounded out of her apartment, and Daisy closed the door behind her, dread already filling her insides at the prospect of spending the next two months with Hunter.


	2. today will stick with me forever

“Nice flat,” Hunter whistled appreciatively as he walked through her front door, two bags slung over his shoulders.

“Thanks,” Daisy heaved out, dragging his impossibly heavy bag behind her. She knew she was out of shape, but did he fill his bags with rocks only to annoy her?

He turned around and looked at her with an amused expression. When she didn’t respond, only stared at him annoyed, he shrugged and continue his way down her apartment.

“Yours is at the end of the hallway,” she called out to him.

He threw his hand in the air with a snap in response, clicking his tongue in the process.

As she entered her apartment and closed her front door, she heard a dull thud from Hunter’s room. She rolled her eyes, she hadn’t even spent more than five minutes with him, but he already got on her nerves.

“Do I leave your bag her or…” She called out annoyed.

“You can bring it here if you want,” he shouted back.

Daisy huffed in frustration, then clutched the two straps tightly in her hands and dragged his bag over the hardwood floor to his bedroom. She rapped her knuckles quickly against his door but entered the room without waiting for a reply. She was in her own home after all.

“Here’s your ba-”

In the dusky light filtering through her window, she studied him as he laid on his belly, his face smothered into his pillows.

“-g,” she finished with difficulty.

He had taken his shirt off, because her apartment was hot as hell in the summer, certainly after carrying his bags for six flights of stairs. For once she didn’t curse her lack of aircon as she stared at his back muscles, rippling as if cut from breathing marble.

Getting her senses back, and remembering who he was, she dropped his bag loudly next to her, startling him awake.

“‘M sorry. This bed just looked bloody comfortable.”

Her time with Jemma as a roommate had left her with some lessons; always clean up after yourself and always try to make a guest feel welcome. She may not like her guest, but she’d be damned if Jemma found out she hadn’t made the bed beforehand. She didn’t want her friend chastising her like a badly behaved child.

“Yeah, no, I get it,” she muttered, leaning against the doorframe.

He turned on his side to look at her, a sly smile on his face. “Thanks for making the bed already, I was kinda assuming you’d be less hospitable.”

Her eyes snapped to his, her usual anger when she was around him returning. “I’m always hospitable,” she said, then added beneath her breath: “unlike someone else here.” She whipped around and marched irritated to the kitchen, missing the face slap Hunter gave himself.

\---

Two weeks had passed. They had started being amicable towards each other after a huge fight midweek two about leaving the toilet seat down. At least, he spent his days not getting in her way too much, keeping to his room or going out. Daisy, on the other hand, returned to her working schedule so she wouldn’t alarm him of her jobless situation, but instead of going to work, she went out in the city, wandering through parts she had never gone before; even after five years of living in the city, she hadn’t explored much of it.

She took the metro to a neighborhood she’d never been before, and guessed her friends hadn’t either, where she found a calm coffee shop on the corner of two streets. In the back, there was a large bookcase filled with books she always wanted to read but never had the time to.

She walked inside. A small bell signaled the arrival of a customer and she was greeted by a scruffily bearded barista. She ordered a large latte, thanked the barista, Leopold read his name tag, and walked to the back of the shop where she dropped herself in a booth and booted up her laptop.

As she waited, she took a large sip of her coffee and looked around the coffee shop. There were few customers spread across the shop, each nursing their coffee like a life elixir. Leopold was scribbling into a notebook as he waited for other customers to serve, his head resting on his knuckle as he leaned onto the countertop.

When her laptop was fully awake, she opened her browser and went on a job hunt, sending her cv and her motivation letter, which she tweaked every time to fit the different job openings. When she looked at her clock again after sending what felt like thousands of letters, she noticed that three hours had gone by.

The doorbell signaled another customer and Daisy jumped in her seat at the sudden sound. At 11am, the coffee shop seemed much more popular than when she first came in; some were engrossed in books she presumed were borrowed from the coffee shop itself and others were talking lazily with the people they came with. At this hour, the place seemed particularly popular to students, hanging out before, between or after their classes, Daisy didn’t know. She kinda felt old amidst their lively chatter, certainly now that her lower back started to hurt from not having moved in so long.

She decided on ordering another coffee and something small to eat, more to stretch her legs than for anything else. When she walked up to the counter, Leopold wasn’t there anymore, instead, there was a chipper girl, Piper, who chatted away while readying Daisy’s order.

She swiped her card, mumbled a ‘thanks’ when Piper handed her her coffee and a cinnamon bun, and shot her a smile just to make sure she didn’t come off as rude, only tired of filling out job applications all morning.

Before returning to her spot, she made a quick detour by the bookcase and scanned the names on the spines. She took out ‘Brown Girl Dreaming’ because she swore she heard Elena talk about how much she had enjoyed the book and strolled back to her spot, where she read while nursing her coffee and munching on her bun.


	3. we're too young to get lost looking back

Daisy kept this routine up for another week, until one day she passed Hunter on her way out, lounging in her couch in a pair of shorts and a spent t-shirt.

“Hey.” He saluted, which was amusing to her because she had never seen anyone else do it as greeting.

“Hi,” she shot back, a gentle smile on her face. They were in the beginnings of - friends wasn’t the right word: they weren’t there yet - a mutual acceptance of each other’s presence? In their brief exchanges, he had even managed to make her laugh, which Daisy didn’t feel like it in the last days. She hadn’t heard anything back from the multitude of job applications she had sent out and her future seemed bleaker with each passing day. She knew her mother would gladly help her, but she already had so much on her plate with managing what remained of the firm.

Her gaze snapped to the tv screen where Hunter was scrolling down his Netflix feed. “Are you watching Netflix on a Thursday morning?” She asked judgingly.

“Have you been outside? It’s scorching hot out,” he defended himself but didn’t take his eyes off the screen.

“Have you?” she inquired, her eyes drifting to the vibrant blue sky through her window.

Hunter pointed behind him toward the counter, where her newspaper and post were stacked neatly, her keys resting on top of the pile.

“Thanks, but you know I don’t have aircon right?” She said, walking towards the window to experience herself this scalding heat he was talking about. “How warm can it be outsi-”

As she opened the window, a wave of oppressive warmth flooded the room, putting Daisy in an immediate sweat. She quickly shut the window again as Hunter groaned in agony behind her. She wasn’t looking forward to leaving her apartment. Her eyes snapped to Hunter, sitting comfortably with his feet propped up on her coffee table.

She had ice pops in her fridge and icy water. Though she enjoyed her time in the cozy coffee shop, the prospect of not having to trudge through the scalding heat excited her and she could feel her mind slowly deciding on what to do.

“What are you watching?”

“It’s been a minute since I’ve seen Harry Potter last, thought this heatwave would be the perfect opportunity.”

She plopped down next to him, putting her laptop bag next to her and propping her feet up onto her coffee table as well.

“Don’t you have to work?” he regarded her curiously, a hint of a smirk on his lips.

“I took some days off here and there,” she said quickly, trying to make the lie sound as natural as possible. He kept looking at her and Daisy felt herself become warm. He couldn’t know she was lying, right?

His face turned back to the screen, his smirk spreading on his lips as he shrugged casually. Daisy almost regretted not walking out the door, but she remembered the unbearable heat wafting through her window and sunk further into her couch.

“You know, I’ve never seen Harry Potter.” His gaze snapped to her, mouth dropped open, and her cheeks turned red again. “I think I’ve seen the first and second one though,” she quickly added to make it sound less bad.

“This is culture, Daisy! How have you not seen it?”

It was the first time she had heard her name come from his mouth. Maybe it was his accent, but there was a certain melody to it when he said it.

“I know what it’s about?” she weakly offered.

“That’s it, you’re watching it with me!” He gently patted her upper leg, leaving a burning sensation where his skin touched hers. They locked eyes for a moment, though he swiftly averted his gaze en crossed his arms, starting the movie up.

Daisy didn’t really pay attention, instead replaying the way he said her name over and over, until his voice felt like an echo in her mind.

\---

“How are you, Dais?” Jemma’s radiant smile greeted her as Daisy walked to the booth she was sitting at. Their usual lunch spot had a completely different vibe than her coffee shop she found a few blocks away. She liked it though; it felt like she had her own little escape.

“I’m fine. How’s living with Bobbi?” She asked as she hugged her friend. They both sat down and Jemma looked at the menu, chatting excitedly about her girlfriend. “It’s wonderful! I’m so happy!”

“I’m happy for you, Jem, really,” Daisy said. Jemma was like a sister to her. She remembered the day the met clearly; Jemma and she were two strangers to the city and each other, thrown together in a ratty dorm room, unknowing to what fate had in store for them. They hit it off immediately, each’s personality complementing the other’s; where Jemma was responsible, Daisy was outgoing and where Jemma was funny, Daisy was serious when needed. When Daisy said she was happy for her, she truly meant it. She wished Jemma all the happiness in the world.

Jemma reached over the table and held both of Daisy’s hands. “I hope you find someone that makes you happy too.” She smiled at her friend. “We could do double dates!” She exclaimed excitedly all of the sudden.

“Calm down, Jem. We’re not there yet,” Daisy shushed her friend before the whole place would look at them.

“Speaking of…” Jemma murmured, “How is living with Hunter?”

Daisy’s face lit up at the mention of his name. After their two-day Harry Potter binge while the outside world was burning, Daisy took him to some of her favorite spots in the city - minus her coffee shop, it was still hers. Most of them were air conditioned though; the heatwave was unrelenting. She took the opportunity to visit museums she said she’d go to when she first arrived in New York; they went to the MoMa, where they both acted as cultured art critics, making them double over in laughter when they left the place. They visited the Natural History Museum; Hunter grinned as Daisy gushed over how big the dinosaurs were. They even went to a spy museum a block away from Broadway, where Daisy constantly made fun of Hunter with his PI job. Overall, he wasn’t as much a dick as she thought before. She noticed they even had lots of things in common, like their love for weird socks and Twizzlers. Daisy didn’t like to admit it, but she considered him a good friend. No way she would tell Jemma so, she’d never live down her smugness.

“It’s fine, actually. He’s a pretty good roommate.” Their waiter came by to pick up their order. They both asked for wraps and water, it was too hot for anything else, and the waiter returned to the kitchen.

Jemma slapped her amiably when Daisy added with a wink, “better than my previous one, at least.”


	4. I don't want this to end

A month had passed, Daisy noted. Looking at it then, it felt as if time had gone by in the blink of an eye; seemed like Hunter had only arrived the day before. With the same logic, he’d be gone the day after. The prospect made her sad, which she would’ve never thought she would feel about Hunter. She had gone to a few job interviews in that time, but none had called back. It only added to her anxiousness.

She returned home from her day at the coffee shop and a delicious smell whirled around her. She took a deep breath, the sweetness filling her nostrils, and walked further into her apartment where she found Hunter in the kitchen. He was singing to ‘Don’t go breaking my heart’ by Elton John with his back turned to her, completely unaware of her presence. Lucky, otherwise Daisy would’ve never seen his karaoke rendition where he seemed to pour his whole heart out.

“Whatcha cooking?” She hopped on to the counter, giggling when he turned around abruptly, clearly startled.

“Uh,” he stammered, “hey, Daisy. Sorry, what were you saying, love?”

The nickname rolled off his mouth like it was the most natural thing to say, and her heart skipped a beat. She liked the idea of him whispering it to her in the morning, in the evening, with him underneath her…. Daisy’s eyes turned wide.

Shit.

She might’ve developed a crush.

He didn’t notice though. Turning the volume down on his phone, he stepped closer to her spot on the counter. Daisy’s eyes stayed fixed on him as he moved through the kitchen.

“Daisy?”

She shook her head, trying to come back to her senses, and mumbled, “huh?”

“What did you say?”

“Oh.” She averted his gaze, looking at the damp above the pot he was stirring in just a moment ago. “I asked what you were cooking?”

“My mum makes the best shepherd's pie in the world. I asked her to send me the recipe.”

“If you can cook, why have we been ordering take-out for the last month?”

“Because I like take-out?” He grinned cockily. She squinted her eyes at him and slapped his arm with an oven-mitt that was lying about. Hopping off the counter, she skipped over to the fridge.

“You want something to drink?”

“Beer, please.”

“Coming right up.”

She glided a beer bottle over to him across the counter. He deftly caught it, then searched her top drawer for a bottle opener.

“Your drawers are a bloody mess,” he said, tossing spoons and knives aside. “Why do you have an aux cord in your kitchen drawer?” He fished the long white cable, utensils tangled in it, from the back of the drawer. Daisy quickly moved next to him, grasping the cord from his hands as she pushed him away by his side. Her hand felt his firm side muscles underneath the thin T-shirt and she tensed slightly, suddenly feeling as if she overstepped a certain boundary, which was nonsense; she touched her friends constantly.

However, she felt like Hunter could be something more than a friend.

She recovered smoothly though, arguing that her drawer was not as messy as he deemed it was. After finding her bottle opener, she dangled it in front of him smugly. “See? My drawers aren’t messy. You’re just blind.”

He stuck his tongue out at her, and she feigned offense: “You should be nicer to your hostess, I could kick you out any time I want.”

He took a step closer, looking down at her. Daisy accepted the challenge, moving closer to him as well and defiantly looking up, though she imagined she didn’t look as threatening as she hoped she would: he towered above her.

“You wouldn’t,” he breathes out, his eyes boring into hers.

She shrugged, not trusting her voice to hide her nervosity due to his proximity.

In an instant, his hands were on her, tickling her sides. She burst into laughter as she tried to free herself from his embrace. She begged him to stop through her laughs, circling the kitchen island while taunting him to come after her.

“Say you would miss me if I were gone!” he shouted happily.

“I wouldn’t!” She laughed.

Liar.

She darted to her bedroom, but before she could make it, he pulled her with him onto the couch. With him between her legs and his face so close to her, Daisy felt his breath against her neck. The urge to kiss him grew in her belly. A few inches and she would know how it felt to have his lips against hers. Hunter’s lips.

Lance Hunter.

A month ago she hated him. He hated her.

Doubt settled in her mind and she pulled away, her eyes wide. Clearing her throat she told him, “you can stay. For now. But only because I want to taste that Shepherd’s pie.” With a small, uncomfortable smile she walked back to the kitchen, retrieving her beer bottle and gulping a large amount of the content. The bitter drink washed part of her embarrassment away but Daisy stayed fidgety.

Hunter sprang up from the couch, darting to the kitchen to prevent his dish from getting burned. He crouched down in front of the oven, quickly shutting the heat off and opened the door. A warmth spread to the kitchen as he slid the dish out of the oven, mirroring the warmth Daisy felt in her belly as Hunter looked at her with a triumphant look.

“Not burned.” He grinned. Daisy turned away to hide her flush, and the growing heat in the pit of her belly, busying herself with taking out two plates and two sets of cutlery out of her cabinets. She placed them on her kitchen island next to each other, and came face to face with Hunter, though the kitchen island remained between them.

“Can I ask you something?” Hunter asked, his face suddenly serious.

“Depends,” she answered cautiously.

“When are you going to tell your friends you got sacked?”

All the breath left Daisy’s chest, shame started gripping her back muscles. She stood still. “How did you know?”

“Your hours were a bit too flexible,” he explained. “I’m a P.I..” He rounded the island, coming to stand in front of her. A soothing warmth appeared on her shoulders as he laid his hands there, squeezing her muscles until they relaxed again.

“I’m sorry, I know it isn’t my business but I-”

“It’s okay,” she cut him off with a hand to his chest.

“I don’t want my mom to know, she’s had a hard year as it is with my father’s company left in shambles. Jemma and my mom are creepily close.” she chuckled at the thought of her mother and her friend frequently lunching together like old friends. Jemma’s parents were all the way in England, and Daisy noticed she sometimes missed them, hence she didn’t mind sharing a mother with her best friend.

“I’m sorry about what happened.” His voice was low. The rumble in his chest spread through the palm of her hand, igniting every cell in her body.

“You didn’t know,” she whispered back. The silence, except for the dulled city sounds outside, enveloped the both of them. She didn’t dare break it by making too harsh a sound.

“Didn’t have to be an ass though.”

“You were a bit of an ass, weren’t you?” They both laughed quietly. Hunter’s hands slid down her arms, resting at her elbows.

“Not anymore though.” She looked up at him, noticing the flecks of gold in his eyes and the tiny freckles dotting his nose.

“No?” He smiled cheekily, leaning a little bit closer.

A car’s alarm went off in the distance.

Daisy stepped back. “No,” she said, and sat down at the counter, “because you made dinner.”

He followed her example, but not before taking the dish and serving them both a portion. Daisy stared at the damp coming from in between the layers, instead of looking at him and admitting her feelings.

“I can’t believe you admitted to being an ass,” Daisy smirked smugly, trying to lighten the mood. Hunter, of course, wasn’t having any of it. “I was horrible to you while you were dealing with-” He paused, trying to come up with words, but coming up empty. “Your father. No one should go through that,” he simply said, his face torn in sadness and regret.

Tears pricked at the back of her eyes. “Yeah, well, cancer’s a bitch,” She said bitterly. Her gaze snapped to his, and suddenly, amidst the sadness her father’s death had left her two years ago, she could feel the hope of a happier life returning. Memories of her pale father in a hospital bed made way to kinder memories, where the harsh hospital lights faded until they grew into warm yellowy sunlight, and her father smiled, wrinkles crinkling in the corner of his eyes.

Hunter’s eyes were still locked onto her, warm and soft, without pity, unlike many of her friends when she talked about her father, only something akin to- could it be love? It felt too soon to say, Daisy thought, but she wouldn’t neglect it. Tomorrow, she thought, she would take him to her coffee shop. Her place.

Maybe afterward, she could slowly let him into her heart.


	5. let's hang on to the moment we're in

“Guess who still got game?” Hunter announced as he barged into their apartment, dropping the keys onto the small table in the hallway.

Daisy craned her neck over the back of the couch to look at him. She had spent the last hour online shopping for some new formal clothes; A company she had applied to had called her back for an interview. If she got the job, she’d be working in the IT department of Stark Industries, a chance she wouldn’t want to waste by not dressing up the part. She wouldn’t hold onto too much hope though, for fear of only being disappointed in the end. It was too good to be true, after all.

“What is it?”

“Guess who got a date tonight with the cute barista of Night Night?”

Daisy’s smile fell from her face as her heart dropped in her chest, splintering into infinite pieces.

This day was going too well.

“Oh,” she simply uttered.

“You okay?” He walked further into the living room, then stood before her, his face scrunched in confusion at her sudden change in mood.

“Yeah,” she breathed out, wanting to leave this room, and him. However, he lived here now; she couldn’t break down and cry in her own home, her room would suffice. “I forgot something.” Her voice broke down and she hated herself for it. “In my room.”

She dropped her laptop onto the couch and rushed to her room, only missing by an inch the hand that tried to catch her arm. After closing the door a little too abruptly, she walked to her window, trying to calm down.

A month and a half ago, she hated him, hence she didn’t understand the hurt she felt. The echoing in her ribcage as millions of shards that used to be her heart rattled around was so excruciatingly loud in her ears that she didn't hear the soft knocking at her door. Nor Hunter entering. 

“Daisy?”

Startled, she wheeled around, coming face to face with him. She quickly dried her tears as if nothing happened, but she knew her eyes were still red and her cheeks puffy.

“What happened?”

“I’m okay,” she lied. “Enjoy your date!” She circled back around, staring intently through her window at a pigeon on another house’s roof. She didn’t see the small smile he wore as he shot her a hopeful glance. “Please go.” She said quickly, wanting the solitude of, at least, her own room if she couldn’t have her whole apartment.

He moved closer. His warmth radiated through his shirt and caressed her back. “I don’t want to go,” he whispered.

“What is it you want then?” The pigeon waddled a few feet further, flapped its wings, then continued pecking at the asphalt.

“I want you to turn around and kiss me.”

She spun around and lost her footing due to her surprise, but his hands came up to her arms to steady her.

“What about your date?” She asked, emphasizing the ‘t’ at the end.

“I only tried to get a date to move on, keep my mind occupied.”

“From what?”

“You!” He exclaimed, his fingers clutching her arms, as she stumbled back.

“You pulled away.” His voice broke, suddenly losing the courage that surged in him moments before.

“I thought you hated me?”

“Hate you?”

Daisy shrugged, instantly her fears seemed unfounded as her eyes locked in his.

“I never hated you. I used to be a bloody idiot that can’t flirt. Three years ago I met a gorgeous girl at a friend’s house, but I couldn’t keep my mouth shut and insulted her instead of telling her how beautiful her eyes are.” He rose a hand up to her face, brushing a stray lock, clinging to her forehead, away.

“How radiant her smile is.”

She threw her hands around his neck and kissed him. Her lips were pressed too harshly against his, but she didn’t care; she needed to feel every inch of him. He inhaled a sharp gasp while his body went rigid. Daisy pulled away, noticing something unreadable in his eyes, then he pulled her tight against him, his hands roaming her body until they settled on her hips. After tilting her head to the side, she guided Hunter to her neck by his hair, where he left a trail of hot kisses down to her collarbone. When she slipped a hand under his shirt, the feel of his muscles clenching by her touch alone, she moaned. Hunter pulled their hips together as he returned to her mouth, hungrily tasting her.

“You don’t know how badly I wanted this,” he breathed out in between kisses. Daisy pulled away, her eyes flicked to their hips pressed together, and she quirked her eyebrow. “I can guess,” she laughed.

“C’m here, love,” he groaned as she arched her hips against his, proving her point.

“I’m on the pill,” she added in a breathless whisper. She clawed at his t-shirt, which he promptly removed, and a few seconds later her own dress followed on the ground. Tossing her onto her mattress, he shrugged off his gym shorts before climbing on top of her. Daisy, who looked beautiful to Hunter as she laid beneath him, her hair spread around her head and her sweat clinging to her skin like an ethereal glow, looked up at him with lust in her eyes, and a mischievous glint. She quickly tipped him over so he was in between her thighs, and covered his shoulder in playful bites.

She bent down to pull him into a searing kiss as he kicked his boxers off, tugging at her briefs. She quickly obliged then adjusted herself to him, rocking her hips slowly while his hands stroked her skin. He groaned and kneaded her flesh, which made her move faster, bracing herself on his chest. Both losing themselves in each other, their rhythm sped up until Daisy cried out, pushing him over the edge as well.

She climbed off Hunter, then sunk next to him into her mattress, the sweat on their skin clinging together. Daisy brushed her hand against his chest as she settled her head into the crook of his neck. He smiled down at her as she closed her eyes, relishing the feel of him pressed against her. “We’ve wasted so many days,” she mumbled, not hearing his answer as sleep pulled her down.

They fell asleep together like this:

Intertwined, and

in love.


	6. where does the time go?

“I’ve got the job!” She screamed out, jumping into Hunter’s arms as he spun her around. He put her back down but not before pulling her into a passionate kiss. Resting his head against hers, he said, “I’ve got some good news as well.”

Daisy beamed up at him as she awaited his words.

“I’ve got a job too.” He grinned. “Here, in New York.”

Daisy blinked as realization set in. “You’re staying? Here? With me?”

Hunter bobbed his head excitedly up and down, snaking his arms around her waist.

“What about your life in England?”

“I’ve got everything I need right here. Ain’t gonna pass up on that, love.”

“I won’t have to miss you!” she exclaimed.

He shook his head, laughing.

“Now we can waste as many days as we want.”

She winked cheekily. “I wouldn’t call what I’m planning for you a waste of time.” 


End file.
